Archery looks to hit target with big names

Brady Ellison, who received his first compound bow aged seven, is a former world No. 1.

THE Singapore leg of the Dec 8-9 Indoor Archery World Cup (IAWC) at the ITE College East will feature a star-studded line-up including former world No. 1 Brady Ellison.

The 25-year-old American is one of the biggest names in the sport, having held the top spot in the recurve world rankings for almost two years before relinquishing it to South Korea's Olympic gold medallist Oh Jin Hyek in April this year.

Ellison, now the world No. 8, won a team silver at the London Olympic Games last year and is also a multiple world championship medallist.

World No. 3 women's recurve archer Deepika Kumari, of India, as well as No. 2 (men's compound) Reo Wilde and No. 1 (women's compound) Erika Jones of the United States have also been pencilled into the event.

This is the Republic's third year hosting the Asian leg of the IAWC, with the other stops this year in Morocco, Britain and the United States. About 220 archers from more than 20 countries will compete in Singapore this time.

Simon Ho, managing partner of organiser Archery Alliance, said the event aims to help promote archery in Singapore and is a good platform for local archers to see the world's best in action.

Said Ho, a former honorary secretary of the Archery Association of Singapore: "Even if you are an archer in the national team, it doesn't mean you get to compete in a world tournament like this.

"This is a good opportunity for archers in Singapore to know what it feels like to be in a high-level world event."